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Sunday, January 27, 2013

Tougher DUI laws exist in California these days than in the old days, lawyers remind. Now a person can be going 56 mph in a 35 mph zone on a first time California DUI and be looking at a mandatory 60 days in jail, attorneys point out

Tougher DUI laws exist in California these days than in the old days, lawyers remind. Now a person can be going 56 mph in a 35 mph zone on a first time California DUI and be looking at a mandatory 60 days in jail, attorneys point out. This is one of the many California DUI enhancement or aggravated penalties making drunk driving cases more difficult to defend, say San Diego lawyers.

The California DUI Excessive Speed Enhancement is found in California Vehicle Code Section 23582 which states in a, b and d:(a) Any person who drives a vehicle 30 or more miles perhour over the maximum, prima facie, or posted speed limit on afreeway, or 20 or more miles per hour over the maximum, prima facie,or posted speed limit on any other street or highway, and in a mannerprohibited by Section 23103 during the commission of a violation ofSection 23152 (DUI law) or 23153 shall, in addition to the punishmentprescribed for that person upon conviction of a violation of Section23152 or 23153, be punished by an additional and consecutive term of60 days in the county jail.

[This means 20 or more miles per hour on roads other than freeway,

or 30 miles or more on the freeway will expose a California DUI driver

to this enhancement, say San Diego attorneys.]

(b) If the court grants probation or suspends the execution ofsentence, it shall require as a condition of probation or suspensionthat the defendant serve 60 days in the county jail, in addition andconsecutive to any other sentence prescribed by this chapter.

[Shall require appears to make it mandatory under the statute, say San Diego DUI

lawyers.]

(d) The additional term provided in this section shall not beimposed unless the facts of driving in a manner prohibited by Section23103 and driving the vehicle 30 or more miles per hour over themaximum, prima facie, or posted speed limit on a freeway, or 20 ormore miles per hour over the maximum, prima facie, or posted speedlimit on any other street or highway, are charged in the accusatorypleading and admitted or found to be true by the trier of fact. Afinding of driving in that manner shall be based on facts in additionto the fact that the defendant was driving while under the influenceof alcohol, any drug, or both, or with a specified percentage ofalcohol in the blood.

[A lot hinges on the California DUI facts and the prosecutor's ultimate